What Do You Think Of Tea Tree?

I'm tired and lazy so stock images today I'm afraid ;)

A couple of weeks ago I had my lady time and as per usual my skin went a bit crap. Add a new foundation in to the mix and my face was starting to resemble a pizza. Okay maybe I'm exaggerating but nonetheless I headed straight to Superdrug and got myself some concentrated tea tree oil (£2.99 for 10ml)

I would like to add that it took me about 5 minutes to work out why this one cost the same for 5ml. Then I realised it was 100% and that it came with a rather scary warning of although it's a natural product, dilute it to 1% first or your skin will explode (okay not really but still I do not have the time to dilute it for myself)

It smelt really familiar so my guessing is is that Tea Tree is actually in quite a lot of those 'on the spot' (or something equally witty) spot treatments. I think it has worked. I have had no more spots appearing and these current ones are actually showing signs of disappearing.

So I guess I caught the Tea Tree bug and with a face of dry skin (not linked to the Tea Tree Oil, but probably linked to aforementioned foundation and cold weather) I wanted a new face scrub. And then Boots had to have a 2 for £5 deal so I bought a peel off face mask too.

And I have a lovely radiant face (well in a dark room maybe with a bedside lamp on) which is showing signs of clearing up. And of course I love anything peely so the face mask is perfect for me, I love how it actually feels like you're pulling out dirt! Ha no placebo effect or anything. . .

But please let me know your experiences with Tea Tree oil, what are your HG skincare products?

Love Sophie xx

Foam Hair Dyes - A Comparison

In the past couple of months I've used both the John Frieda and Nice 'n Easy versions of foam hair dye, and I thought I'd do a comparison for you

Nice 'n Easy £6.99

John Frieda £9.99

First Impressions

John Frieda's definitely looks like it costs more (and it does) and I might've got a bit too excited over the fact that it provides you with black gloves. To be honest, Nice 'n Easy's looks just like any other hairdye.

Mixing

 John Frieda's seemed to magically turn into a foam, whereas Nice and Easy's (sorry cannot be bothered to abbrieviate the 'and' in their name anymore) went foamy but also really runny and quite wet.

Application

 I only managed to get a  picture of the John Frieda foam (was stressing too much when trying to get Nice and Easy's more foamy!) but as you can see it looks like liquid and comes out like foam!

JF applies more like a shampoo, whereas the NE one applied just like a regular hair dye. Both were fine, but if you're going for the novelty factor then JF wins hands down in this respect.

Both had nice smells, however Nice and Easy's was very sweet, like sweets and it did have the tinge of ammonia smell that made my eyes water. I also think Nice and Easy's was a bit messier, probably because it was more liquidy than JFs.

John Frieda One Month On 

ie the night I used Nice and Easy's

I dyed it a 'dark chocolate brown', and it faded quite a bit, ignoring the roots! Despite it's promises to remove orange/red tones (put your hands up if you get those too!) you can see that they're still present.

This is the final result of Nice and Easy's, taken this morning

Not an orange hair in sight!

Which would I recommend?

If you want to treat yourself. . John Frieda

If you're not too fussed about the foam aspect. . Nice 'n Easy

If you'd prefer a (rather generous and lovely smelling) tube of deep condtioner. . John Frieda

If you have any more questions just ask

Love Sophie xx   

Look Who's Back In Your Dashboard: Made For Me Naturals Lipstick

Bet you weren't expecting me any time soon? 

Thought I'd come back with a bang for my 100th post (okay not really a bang, but I've got some nice lipsticks to show you?)

These lipsticks are the L'oreal Made For Me Naturals (I think they're part of the Color Riche range?) and I love love love them. They don't get much loving on the internet (absolutely NO swatches anywhere) so I thought I'd do a post.

235 Nude on the left and 240 Dune on the right

After some Googling for a nude lipstick (and by nude I mean flattering and not concealer coloured) I thought I'd give these a try. If you watch Coronation Street, I have been lemming after Carla Connor's lipstick for a long long time. I'm terrible at finding things that match my skin tone, so with this range I reckoned not much could go wrong. I originally bought 240 Dune from Boots for around £8 so they're not cheap, and it's the lightest (I think) lipstick in the Dark Brunettes range.

I apologise for the poor photo conditions, I've just taken them and it's pitch black outside. This has a slight shimmer but it looks lovely with brown smokey eyes.

And that is where my love affair with these lipsticks began. I watched a video where L'oreal shows you how to get 'glamorous lips' and after much pausing and peering I noticed that they use the lipstick 235 (which I later found out was called Nude) and fell in love with the shade. However Boots being Boots didn't stock it so it was up to Ebay, and I managed to get my hands on it for less than half the price I paid for Dune.

This lipstick is (I think) for Blondes, but the model in the video is Brunette so I don't care. It's more pink than Dune and has more of a satin finish. 

I really recommend having a look through these (and then buying them off Ebay)

Let me know what you've been up to, and here's hoping I don't disappear again

Love Sophie xx

Vaseline On A Stick

Who else was genuinely excited at the prospect of whipping out a tube of Vaseline? 

Oh just me then?

Haha well I'm sure you all know about the 4 new chapstick-style Vaselines but I got my first the other day and I love it!

I didn't succumb to the cocoa butter Vaseline tin because um, it didn't taste like chocolate. Neither does this but I wanted it anyway! I really think this cocoa butter range tastes just like original Carmex.

I love love love this, it's great to see the look on people's faces when they see a stick of Vaseline and I know I'll be picking up the rosy one too

Have you got yours yet?

Sophie xx

Want 20% off at ASOS but don't have an NUS Card?

Just enter

GRAZIANOV

at the checkout to get 20% off until 17th November

and don't forget there's FREE delivery!

Already ordered me some beaaautiful nude heels. What will you buy?

Love Sophie xx

Cleaning Brushes?

My name is Sophie and I'm incredibly lazy.

There I said it.

Therefore I need a super easy way to clean my favourite brush ever in the whole wide world

It's the Sigma F80 and it is AMAZING

But its a bit of a mess :(

Cheap and easy ways to clean brushes por favor? Preferably with things I'll already have in my house?

And while I'm here, what's your favourite ever ever brush?

Sophie xx

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipsticks

Hey everyone, I'm back! You've probably forgotten what I look like, right?

But anyways I somehow managed to end up with 2 of the Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipsticks, one in possibly the lightest shade they've got, and one in the darkest. I'm not sure how much they are now but I paid £3.99 each

If you've seen the advert, it's of Zooey Deschanel covering a room with paint (I think), you would never in a million years associate that advert with these lipsticks. After the beautiful packaging of the Moisture Renew lipsticks these are a bit of a disappointment. 

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipsticks in Asia and Starry Eyed

I do really like these lipsticks. Asia is a kind of browny-pinkish nude and Starry-Eyed is a purplish red. I love how you can easily mattify these lipsticks with tissue and they don't dry out your lips. 

I'm not sure what the claim is but they're NOT that long lasting and they taste a bit strange (kind of like the Maybelline Color Sensationals?)

Have you tried these lipsticks? Are you a Rimmel fan?

Sophie xxx

All That Style

You know those girls, the ones that look amazing whatever they wear, always look beautiful, yeah well I hate them.

Haha only kidding (maybe..) but if you're anything like me and spend hours looking through fashion blogs and Lookbook then you'll love Nadine's blog

I hope you love it as much as I do!

Click heeere to have a look 

Love Sophie

(favourites post coming soon I promise!)

Youtube Subtitles

Okay, I think I have quite a bit of time on my hands, but if you're stuck for something to do, I totally recommend watching a video on Youtube and using their 'subtitles'

Just click there

and when fifty vote?

nope, she actually said in 150 Buff.

I love it!

Some more from this video:

It's just a very very dark cream eyeshadow: She and the eighth cretien

I'm going to use that in the waterline: Anthony you work for

I've got my top lashes in place: I've been crying

Seriously, Youtube??

Have a lovely evening

xxx

Embracing The Pale

This is a much requested post that I've been meaning to do for ages!

As I'm sure you all know I am quite pale, half the foundations I own are called Ivory! However I do have freckles and fortunately (even though I hate them!) they do warm up my face a bit. Yet in these winter months I always feel as if my skin is grey and that I have really uneven pigmentation on my face. Which is why I am a foundation addict.

I don't use foundation to cover up my skin, however I do like a heavier coverage. In recent months however, there has been a definite increase in brands offering sheer yet 'flawless' foundations, and I'm rather partial to those too!

For the time being though, I'm going to be discussing the following foundations, and most of them are in the palest shades available. I would love to do a post on foundations for darker skintones, but I don't know much about that do I!

At the end of the post I'll be showing rubbed in swatches and other alternatives which I love

Revlon ColorStay in Sand Beige

I love this foundation, despite buying a shade too dark. It lasts ages and is quite high coverage. I mix this with Healthy Mix

Revlon Beyond Natural in Light and Light/Medium

This foundation is a sheerer one. As you can see the pale is really pale and the medium is quite, orange. I think it's because these two are really old, but the white turning to your ideal shade is a bit of a gimmick. Wouldn't really recommend.

Rimmel Stay Matte in 100 Ivory

I do like this foundation as it does keep you matte without the need for powder but the shade is so OFF. It is nowhere near ivory, quite orange and I'm disappointed in Rimmel for this :( Medium to high coverage.

Bourjois Healthy Mix in Vanille Clair 51

Possibly my favourite foundation ever. I've repurchased this many times (it's currently £6.99 in Boots) and I even bought the matching concealer which if I'm honest, I prefer to Touche Eclat. Medium coverage but it's buildable and doesn't cake. I LOVE THIS!

Maybelline Dream Satin Liquid in Ivory

I really liked this foundation, but it is still a bit too orange. It's one of those ones that looks fine at first, but whilst out you realise you have a severe case of different colour face to neck syndrome. Medium buildable coverage and feels lovely to the touch.

Max Factor Lasting Performance in Pastelle

The packaging on this one makes me shake my head in disapproval. It's so . . cheap! Fairly pale and quite heavy coverage but not that flattering.

MAC Face and Body in N2

 You all know I love this one! It sets like jelly. Haha that was a really bad metaphor but what I mean is it sets really nicely. Oily girls might need a bit of powder though but I love this.

Here are all the foundations rubbed in a bit

Other Foundations I Like

• The palest Face and Body is great for mixing with foundations that you find too dark
• Sleek offer the lightest and darkest foundations you'll find in Superdrug

Let me know what your favourites are!

Love Sophie xx